Process for locating valuable subterranean deposits



Jan. 13; 1942. W LAU' 12,269,889-

PROCESS FOR LOCATING VALUABLE SUB'I'ERRANEAN DEPOSITS V Filed Feb: 19,39

3 v we 2 A A A a e physical methods,- the latter being used almost 10 c t 105: 3714372 1907 i an article t t change when treated with certain chemical 35 drocarbons is not yet fully established. For the tensity of the same colon It is not known to be generically defined as one which is capable of posits may be attributed, nor is it known what 40 terial, containing hydrocarbon-consuming bac- Pmma Jan. 13, 1942 I 2,269,889

UNITED STATES AT NT oFFlcE I 12,269,889 rnocnss FOR LOOA'I'ING VALUABLE' SUBTERRANEAN nnrosrrs Ludwig W. Blau, Houston, Tex. assi r to I Standard Oil Development Company, m-poration of Delaware Application February 27, 1939, Serial No. 258,811 3 6 Claims. (01. 23 2so 43 l The present invention is directed to a method merization and oxidation, into bodies othigh mofor locating subterranean deposits of oil. This lecular weight which appear te be carboxylic application is a continuation in part of my acids. 'I'hese bacteria are described and their pending application Ser. No. 174,215, filed Novemaction discussed by N. L. Stihngen in Centrbl. ber 12, 1937, and differs therefrom essentially by Bakt. II. 513-517, 1906, in an article enthe inclusion of an explanation of the phenometitled "fiber B non upon which the invention is based. ifg gfig gf Methan als For the Past several Years Prospecting for Oil brauchen. Related bacteria are discussed by has been based mainly on geological and N. L. sohngen m Proefschrift. Delft. 190s (Bot adapted for the accumulation of oil. It is not 15 ases of swam F find suitfibly adapted hs P which oxidiziig bacterium 50 3 252 531? by l li i i gz 15 not accompamed deposlt of 011 in in Diss. Halle, 1915, in an article entitled Zur mercially producible quantities. Consequently, Ph S1010 ie der Methanb kte n. b e e er eel ieeereee e we en eeeeeeeeee e bee in that). var. new. at. that fftiiiif gi i 3:3 by which 011 9 1908 in an article entitled fiber die Wirkung des It is an object of the present invention to proschwefielkflhlemtofis hhhllcher Stofie c111 vide an oil prospecting method by means of which den Boden 5 and Tails-Z and Peter: n it is possible to locate subterranean deposits of c F II, 493 497-554, 1920, In an a ticle oil without regard to the geological structure in entlfled Method? (191 Wa'$SerstOfl hi h they 00mm 4 analyse mit Hilfe von Bakterien.

It is a further object of the present invention The chemical reagent employed In the D a to provide such a method in which f l chemi tice of the present invention apparently effects cal analyses are not necessary and which does a 9 change by actlhg upon th ult of the not require scientific training for its application; actlon of these baqtena upon the h r on The oil prospecting method of the present ingaseswhethfir 60101 Change i due to the vention is based on the discovery that a greatly increased number of bacteria present or surface deposit of oil imparts to the surface soil some hlgh cular weight substance reabove it the property of undergoing a, color sultlng from the action of the bacteria on the hyagents' As used herein, color has a sake of accuracy, therefore, a'reagent which is bmad meaning which includes changes in employed according to the present invention may What this property of Sun-ace soil over n effecting a color change when applied to a mais the nature of the chemical reaction which term, which een subjected to the action of leads'to the color change. It has simply been lh I observed as a fact that these color changes do E periment has demonstrated that the reoccur upon treatment of the soil with certain rets which have performed most conslstently agents and that they are significant in indicating in thls capaclty re those WhlCh are water soluble the presnce of 1 below t surface, alkaline materials which are preferably oxidizing It has been ascertained that hydrocarbon gases 9 1 111 $1188 at they are capable of djfiusing upwardly from 1 deposits are com yielding metalloids in alkaline media. The best sumed bybacterja typified by Bacillusmethanicus reagent which has thus far been found is sodium and Bacillus etham'cus with the result that these 0 d di m perborate has a s p y n v y bacteria are multiplied in areas where they are effectlve- Sodium ydroxide is less effective than supplied with such gases. These bacteria these but does produce a measurable eifect. Sosume the'hydrocarbon gases and appear to condium polysulfide has also given ood results. vert them by a mechanism, which is not clearly Positive results have also been secured with pounderstood, but which presumably includes polytassium permanganate.

2 aaeaeeo In addition to these reagents of an alkaline napreferably. within the first four inches. Since ture, however, other reagents. such as strong the bacteria'to which the color changes obtained mine acids. notably hydrochloric and sulfuric in the practice of the present invention are atacids, ve produced noticeable and significant tributed are aerobic in character, the sample of color changes in aqueous dispersions of soil soil should be collected as near the surface as samples. 2, 4 diaminophenol dihydrochloride has possible. In taking the sample the exposed suralso given evidence of being a suitable reagent. face of the soil together with any vegetation it It may be postulated that the bacteria convert may carry is scraped away and the soil sample hydrocarbons, such as methane, ethane, propane collected immediately below the surface. The and butane, into substances which are either in scraping-away of the surface is only for the color bodies per se. or yield a color when treated purpose of avoiding the occurrence of roots and with suitable reagents. Some evidence points vegetation in the sample. In some areas this to the fact that the reagent-simply frees. the is not necessary. In any given area all sam les color body from the soil sample, and this color should be collected at the same depth. body being presumably a carboxylic acid is As previously explained, each sample is subsaponifled by the agent, when the latter is alkalected to the action of a reagent in any of the line, thereby giving a colored solution. The color ways heretofore explained, whereby a color is body itself does not appear to be soluble in water. secured for each sample. These colors are com- Solutions of the color body in organic solvents pared to determine their relative intensities.

have very little color. when the chemical re- Since the method is one in which various samagent employed is also an oxidizing agent, the pies are compared, it is apparent that for the color appears to be intensified, which may be acsake of accuracy the same amount of soil and counted for by the fact that the color bodies the same amount of detecting a ent Should b are probably unsaturated carboxylic acids which used for each test so that color will be the only readily-undergo oxidation. g5 variable.

In general, it may be stated that the method Over a giv n area, a fairly Wide Variation i of the present invention is carried out on a test color intensity y be observed. A color value tube scale. For example, a test tube is half e blished by experience in proven fields is sefilled with the liquid obtained by mixing the lected as a standard, and all colors of greater soil sample with water and allowing the sedlintensity are taken as an indication of subsurface oil. The observed values of color will also ment to settle leaving a supernatent liquid. To this liquid is added a pinch of the desired rechange with the type of measuring apparatus agent, for example, sodium peroxide. Typical employed and with the calibration of the appaamounts of t i l t b d are 1 r, f 11, ratus. Accordingly, a color value selected as a peroxide, and 1'1 cc. of water. as, andard with one apparatus calibrated in a t t the mixture certain way cannot be employed with another of water and sample, the reagent can be added apparatus or a different calibration of the same dry to the sample and the water added to the apparatus. It has also been observed that (:01- mixture. Again, the reagent may be added to Ms Obtained in a given area under S sonal the water and the solution added to the sample. 40 c an es. Thus, a. sample examined in July from The characteristic color change produced by a given point will usually have quite a difierent a majority of the above recited reagents varies color from a sample from substantially the same from a deep red to alight yellow, depending upon p i examined in December. the latter s p e the oil productiveness of the area in which the lly h vi g a d p r 6010!. Another factor sample tested was collected, the deeper color deswhich enters into the 00101 obtainable by a en ignating oil deposits below the area. It is to sample, is the repla e b calcium d m be understood that it is not necessary to produce s u nt of e s i H h concentrations a clear menstruum from the soil sample where 1 these materials tend to yield l h l rsvisual compar tlced. The use of clear liquid mentioned because in the specific embodiment of menstmum is 5 ors obtained from samples over a given area.

some consideration should be given to the rethe present invention explained hereinafter, col- 'pleceable calcium and nesium Content of or intensity is measured by the translucence of the 1 in that area. Am; the sample, and it is desired, for the sake of Should be Observed is h he taking of Samples accuracy, not to permit the r torted by the presence of the suspended maurbed as by p i u d b terial in the sample. avoided, if possible.

A peculiar aspect of the present invention is The nature and Objects Of the Present invent fact, t t t e color changes are t .tion will be better understood from the following markedly noticeable in samples of soil collected 0 detailed description f the a p ny dr wabove the edge of a subsurface oil deposit. In 8 i h other words, by the method of the present in- Fig. 1 is a. plan view of one form of apparatus vention it is possible to outline approximately which may be used for measuring the color of the area of production in an oil field. This phethe sample,

nomenon corresponds with the observations of 5 Fig. 2 is a. graphical illustration of one type those who practice the method of prospecting by of procedure which may be followed in collectsoil gas analysis who have advanced what has ing samples, and

been termed the "halo theory of soil gas dif- Figure 3 is a graphic illustration of one type fusion. of procedure which may be followed in corre- In the practice of the present invention, the lating the results.

soil samples are collected along certain selected Referring to Fig. 1, numeral l designates 9. lines or at certain selected points in the area box having at one end a source of light 2, and under investigation. The soil used for the samat the other end a photoelectric cell 3 connected ple is preferably that obtained at the surface by leads 4 to a microammeter 5. Between the to a depth, not greater than eig t inches and, source of light and the photoelectric cell is a ison of t samples 1 t b prac- For this reason, in drawing conclusions from collt t b 11 55 from surfaces which have recently been dis-' partition 6 having an opening 1 of a width such that it iscovered by a test tube 8 which is susended in the box in any suitable manner and contains the sample to be examined. As is known the current set up by a photoelectric cell is a function of the intensity of color of the sample. For any given apparatus a sample obtained at the edge of a known oil field is examined and the current observed. Samples taken inside the edge of the oil field and outside the edge of the oil field are then examined. These will give colors of less intensity than the samples on the edge of the oil field. A color value of an intensity intermediate that in the edge of thefield and that oil the edge of the field is then arbitrarily selected as a standard above which oil deposits are not indicated and below which they are indicated.

Instead of examining each sample in the photronic cell, a number of standard blanks of different colors or intensities of color can be set up each having a value determined by examination in the photronic cell. These blanks will vary by degrees from the be examined. The blanks are arranged in a row before a uniform source of light and each sample is compared with the blanks so that its color may be determined. This, it will be noted, is actual color determination by visual inspection rather than the test of translucence which is performed with the photronic cell. Therefore in this latter technique, it is not so important that the presence of suspended matter in the liquid undergoing inspection be avoided.

Referring to Fig. 2, numeral l designates an area having known-oil fields II and I2. A series of samples are collected along lines l3, l4, and I5. These lines need not be straight parallel lines, but can be of any desired curvature or can run in any direction. The arrangement shown is adopted for the purpose of clarity. The points at which samples are taken along line 13 are designated as 20 to 36. The points along line Id are designated as 20' to 36'. The points along line l are designated to 36".

A graph, shown in Figure 3, is made up having the stations along the abscissa and color intensities along the ordinate. In the particular case illustrated preliminary tests demonstrated that a color value below 50 was indicative of the edge of an oil field. The sample collected along line I3 had the color values shown' in the curve marked l3. The samples collected along l4 had color intensities shown on the curve It. The samples collected along I5 had the color intensities shown in the curve-marked 15.

In the graph the ordinate is divided into groups of color values of from 0 for each set of samples' The ordinate scale is such that the distance between successive values of color of 50 is proportionate to the distance between the lines along which samples are taken.

In mapping the results those samples along each line which have a color value below 50 are indicated on the abscissa having a value of 50. The points so obtained are then connected by dotted lines 40 and 4|. These lines indicate ;he approximate edge of the oil deposits in each :ase. It can be seen from the drawing which llustrates an actual case that the edge of proiuction measured corresponds fairly closely to he actual edge of production.

As previously stated, it is to be understood that lightest to. the darkest color which can be expected in the samples to to 100, one group I 3 the procedure outlined above is-merely one type of procedure that may be followed. It is evident of reacting with a color change with a sample of soil containing hydrocarbon-consumin terla which has been K bac hydrocarbons. From to be secured by 1. A method 2 in which the 4- I a,aeo,eae

having an oxidizins action and the treatment is carried out in an aqueous medium.

5. A method or prospecting for petroleum deposits which comprises collecting samples of soil at spaced points along the surface or an area under investigation, forming aqueous suspensions 0! said samples, treating the samples separately with sodiumperoxide and comparing the'coiors of the treated samples.

6. In a method otexploration for deposits of hydrocarbon matter. the steps or systematically collecting samples of soil at different points throughout a region, and analyzinl said samples for the presence therein 01 hydrocarbon-consuming bacteria in order to determine the location and the extent of said hydrocarbon deposits.

LUDWIG W. BLAU. 

